The Pursuit of God

First published in 1948, The Pursuit of God  by A. W. Tozer, has been reissued with an Introduction by James L. Snyder and published by Bethany House, who kindly sent me a hardback copy of this Christian classic to review.

A self-taught theologian-pastor, Tozer (1897-1963) wrote the book on a long, cross-country train ride, most likely unaware it would be published many times in many languages over many decades. He just wanted to bring readers of this and his forty-plus books into the presence of God. As he stated in the Preface, “It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God’s children starving while actually seated at the Father’s table.”

In the chapter “Following Hard After God,” Rev. Tozer advises us:

“Come near to the holy men and women of the past, and you will soon feel the heat of their desire for God. They mourned for Him, they prayed and wrestled and sought for Him day and night, in season and out, and when they had found Him the finding was all the sweeter for the long seeking.”

His book has precisely that effect with chapter after chapter showing us how. In “The Universal Presence,” for example, Tozer explains:

“God is here when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifest only when and as we are aware of His Presence. On our part there must be surrender to the Spirit of God, for His work it is to show us the Father and the Son. If we cooperate with Him in loving obedience, God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.”

Each chapter ends with a prayer relevant to what’s just been read as Rev. Tozer draws us ever deeper into The Pursuit of God. The book continues to direct our focus away from ourselves and our concerns toward God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, exhorting us to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) while become more receptive to “The Speaking Voice.”

In the chapter by that name, Rev. Tozer clarifies:

“The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak…. The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech.”

Further:

“I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking….” for “…a word of God once spoken continues to be spoken.”

Therefore:

“If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to the open Bible, expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing; it is a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God.”

©2020, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer, Bible Reviewer

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God calling, Can you hear Me now?

While studying Luke 8 for my Bible discussion group this week, I kept being drawn to verse 18, which in the King James Version says, “Take heed therefore how ye hear.”

Immediately the verse brought to mind how severe critics of a church denomination, political person, or anyone else just cannot seem to hear what’s actually being said. No matter what’s said or done, the people set against them will not (cannot?) hear what’s meant or even have a clue where that person or group is coming from.

Jesus wants us to know where He’s coming from! He does not want to leave us clueless.

In verse 21, Jesus clearly states, “My mother and brothers are those who hear (listen to) the Word of God and act on it.” Obviously, this statement did not push Mary aside, but included her as one who heard and immediately responded to God’s Word. Otherwise, she never could have given birth to Jesus!

Like Mary and Jesus, some people are related by blood, but we relate to Jesus through our ears – by what we hear and how we respond.

To fine-tune my own hearing, I visited the Bible Gateway website and looked up Luke 8:18 in a variety of translations:

English Standard Version says, “Take care then how you hear,” and the New American Bible (Revised Edition) adds only commas, “Take care, then, how you hear.”

New Living Translation says, “So pay attention to how you hear.”

New Revised Standard Version says, “Then pay attention to how you listen.”

New International Version says, “Therefore consider carefully how you listen.”

That’s the first part of hearing God: really listening, paying attention, and carefully considering what we hear. But there’s more to the verse than that.

The complete verse in the new Amplified Bible says:

“So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away.”

May God help each of us to have a teachable heart, long for the truth, and clearly hear God’s Word. Perhaps then, we – as a Christian person, church, and country – can better discern God’s voice and know where we’re to go from here.

Mary Sayler, ©2017, poet-author of over 30 books in all genres, including the new nonfiction book, What the Bible Says About Love

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The Voice of God

Most of us have heard, or at least heard of, that “still, small voice” of God, which the prophet Elijah perceived in 1 Kings 19:12 and which the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) calls “a light silent sound.”

Since childhood I’ve listened for that quiet word or inner “knowing,” but sometimes I suspect I’ve needed a spiritual hearing aid! Even if I’m listening – really listening – will I always hear?

That’s been a lifelong concern for me, but then, a couple of days ago my Bible study group began discussing Revelation, and from the very first chapter, we “heard” God in verse 15 where “His voice was like the sound of many waters,” similar to a rush of ocean waves. Since we live in Florida and have experienced the Atlantic drowning out all other sounds, including our own voices, we began to understand:

• God can be heard.

• God can be heard over a deafening roar.

• God’s voice rises above all others.

If you have ever wondered whether you can “hear God,” Revelation 1:15 will most likely encourage you too. Nevertheless, I confess: I soon forgot!

Then this morning, my devotional readings led me to Psalm 29: 3, where “The voice of the glorious LORD God thunders over the mighty waters,” and I started to get suspicious that maybe God is trying to tell me something vital I need to hear, believe, and remember when uncertainty arises for God’s voice can and will rise higher!

As verse 4 of Psalm 29 goes on to say:

The voice of the LORD
is powerful!

The voice of the LORD
has majesty and splendor.

Blending the voices of many translations found on Bible Gateway, I prayer-a-phrased the above verses in keeping with the adjectives used to describe God’s voice, but NABRE shows the voice as nouns:

The voice of the Lord is power;
the voice of the Lord is splendor.

That power acts, speaking the earth and the universe into being, when in the beginning, God said “Let there be…” and there was.

That power, that voice breaks cedars, divides flames of fire, and shakes the wilderness, yet gently soothes a deer giving birth in a storm-tossed forest!

Let everyone say, “Glory!” and let’s thank God for the peace of knowing the LORD speaks so we who listen can hear.


© 2014 Mary Harwell Sayler is poet-author of numerous books.

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